What Plugs for SE Stage 2 Heads?

Discussion in 'Race 400/430/455' started by wormwood, Jan 13, 2008.

  1. whamo

    whamo 454 71 skylark custom

    I think you def would need the 1125 springs. I believe thats what TA recommended for my cam and its pretty close to your grind. I have a hard time believeing the springs would cost you 2 seconds though. Like I told you on the phone. I ran a whole string of 12.70's with my car only to find out that I had zero compression in 2 cylinders.
     
  2. wormwood

    wormwood Dare to be different

    thanks for raining on my parade steve. :ball:

    also, i see that the heavier duty springs are a little wider then the 1107 springs..im not going to need machine work am i?
     
  3. whamo

    whamo 454 71 skylark custom

    Im looking at the TA catalog right now. I see a 1125 and a 1125AL (aluminum?) they are larger in diameter from the 1107 springs but that doesnt mean that you would need to cut the seats. I would call Mike at TA and ask. It probably will require shimming to get the right closing pressures though.
     
  4. wormwood

    wormwood Dare to be different

    ok, im in the process of changing my springs and i have run into an interesting situation. on the drivers side i cant get my push rods back into the holes....:Do No: . it seems that the valley pan has shifted, could this be from putting air into the cylinders via the spark plug holes while keeping the valves closed? ideas on what to do?

    also when pulling out the pushrods i noticed that the top of one of them completly split off. it was just the top 1/4 inch and it was loged into the cup of the roller rocker. it dosent seem to have cause any damage to the rocker, but IDK what in the world is going on. :shock:
     
  5. whamo

    whamo 454 71 skylark custom

    What kind of valley pan are you using?
     
  6. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    The AM &P valley pan does come pretty close to the pushrods, but it shouldn't shift at all once installed.
     
  7. Buicks4Speed

    Buicks4Speed Advanced Member

    You spring can definitely kill your performance since you spend most of your time at high rpm racing. Did you hurt an exhaust rocker?? It is possible that you floated the valves and bounce the exhaust valve at closing and the piston hit the valve @TDC which can cause rocker and/or pushrod damage.

    Get some Real pushrods which are one piece .083 wall or .116" wall.

    Another thing about valve springs, they loose spring pressure over time, especially if you have more cam than they are rated for. So you weak valve springs probably only have 85 lbs left on the seat......:Dou:
     
  8. wormwood

    wormwood Dare to be different

    i believe that its a fel-pro valley pan gasket. its been so long so i dont remember. i can get the pushrods to go in,but it feels like they are rubbing against the pan. i think i need to take the intake off. :Do No:

    the pushrods im using are prety heavy duty. .080 wall 3/8 thick. i was told a long time ago not to use the beafiest pushrods around because if something breaks you want the pushrods to break being that they are the cheapest nd easiest to replace. i know it probably sounds dumb, but it also seems to make sence.:Do No:
     
  9. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    I think you are right.
     
  10. whamo

    whamo 454 71 skylark custom

    I would dump the Felpro bathtub intake gasket and use the AM&P pan and TA intake gaskets. Especially if you have port matched the intake and are concerned about a possible intake leak, lean condition.
     
  11. 70aqua_custom

    70aqua_custom Well-Known Member

    Rick, if the piston contacted the valve, don't you think the valve would bend? I'm thinking he should do a leakdown test. He already has the rockers off, it would be easy now.
     
  12. Buicks4Speed

    Buicks4Speed Advanced Member

    Wouldn't be a bad idea to do a compression and/or leakdown check. If there is a bent valve, you'll see it on a compression check easy enough. When valve hit from floating they tend to just "flex" since there isn't a cam holding them open. They can break if you don't catch the problem soon enough. Dropped valves cause a big mess......

    Floating the valves kills cylinder pressure at rpm so it could cause an illusion that you need more timing than normal.

    How much much lift does the cam have??? How Much duration? How aggressive is the profile?

    You said 3/8 pushrods?? Pretty tight fit, better make sure they are't rubbing/binding in the pushrod hole thru the head through the cam cycle. I run Smith Brothers 5/16 .116"wall with my roller running 300lbs on the seat. Years ago I had to grind pushrod slots in heads running 5/16 pushrods and 1.65 rockers to keep them from binding and pulling out of the rocker cups.
     
  13. whamo

    whamo 454 71 skylark custom

    He has already performed a compression test. As I recall all the numbers were good. A leakdown test may reveal something else. Pull that intake and get a good look. Also, be sure you get the valve adjustment right, as I understand, you want to be sure you have them set in the middle of the hyd lifters lash range.
     
  14. gusszgs

    gusszgs Well-Known Member

    Yes I agree with Rick on this one. As I recall, the pushrods were tight in my motor with 5/16". They weren't rubbing but a little too close for comfort.
    That coupled with the expansion of the aluminum head and running a 3/8" pushrod.....you may have some binding/rubbing going on.
     
  15. wormwood

    wormwood Dare to be different

    i pulled off the intake. when i did i saw the intake lying in the lifter valley, the gasket part that remains after you cut away the intake ports had riped away from the rest of the valley pan. this may have happened when i pulled off the intake....maybe not. well, now that i got this far, i pulled off the heads, im going to take them to a machine shop and have them flow tested, although this is more work then i wanted to do, im thinking that the peace of mind will hopefully be worth the effort.

    the pushrods dont appear to be rubbing, and i really dont want to spend more money at this juncture, i have to pay a welder to come over and get a rounded head bolt out that i accidently rounded off.
     
  16. Buicks4Speed

    Buicks4Speed Advanced Member

    If your taking it apart, then just step drill it untill the head comes off
     
  17. wormwood

    wormwood Dare to be different

    ok, quick update. the heads are at the local machine shop getting flow tested. the guy a the shop says he only tested one "cylinder" on each head because they all look about the same. what do you guys think about that?

    He also says that that my porting seems to be fine and he dosen't believe that it is impeding my performance. i will have the flow numbers tomorrow after i go pick up the heads.
     
  18. whamo

    whamo 454 71 skylark custom

    That seems pretty normal to me. I would be interested in the condition of the valve springs and the valve seats. Are they checking that stuff out?
     
  19. wormwood

    wormwood Dare to be different

    dont forget, i bought new springs and stuff
     
  20. wormwood

    wormwood Dare to be different

    alright i have some flow numbers.

    cylinder 1 intake @ .400 195.8
    @ .450 214.0
    @ .500 231.8
    @ .700 267.3 (HIGEST CFM)
     

Share This Page